Discharging means for hopper car



Nov. 29, 1960 G. B. DOREY 2,962,325

DISCHARGING MEANS FOR HOPPER CAR I Filed June 30. 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 h. I; a

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Nov. 29, 1960 DISCHARGING MEANS FOR HOPPER CAR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 30,. 1958 25 35 2/62 5 w INVENTOR.

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Nov. 29, 1960 G. B. DOREY 2,962,325

DISCHARGING MEANS FOR HOPPER CAR Filed June 30. 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ww, a a mm 3, WM gm N Q i. k@ m: v

INVENTOR.

Nov. 29, 1960 B. DOREY DISCHARGING MEANS FOR HOPPER CAR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 30, 1958 United States atent DISCHARGING MEANS FOR HOPPER CAR George B. Dorey, Westmount, Quebec, Canada, assignor to Enterprise Railway Equipment Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed June 30, 1958, Ser. No. 745,619

Claims. (Cl. 302-52) This invention relates, generally, to an improved discharge means for hopper cars. More particularly it relates to that type of hopper car wherein discharge of lading is effected either pneumatically or by gravity.

In cars of the identified character having selective unloading it has hitherto been necessary to restrict the area of discharge opening when applying means for adapting the car to pneumatic unloading. A feature of the present invention is the retention of full discharge area while adapting the car to eflicient pneumatic unloading.

The objects of the invention, among others, are: To provide discharging means involving a sub-chamber for receiving lading by gravity and removing the same from the sub-chamber pneumatically; to provide a hopper car with a sub-chamber to which lading can flow by gravity for pneumatic unloading and having a floor panel with provision for removal thereof to adapt the car to gravity unloading; to provide a movable closure controlling the discharge of lading with conduit means therein for directing entraining air arranged to trap lading flowing over the controlling edge of the closure; and to provide conduit means arranged to direct entraining air in such a manner as to prevent clogging of the exit outlet of a pneumatic unloader.

The invention also resides in the details of construction associatedv with the improvement and in the means employed for carrying out the purposes of the invention.

The improvement is of particular importance in the handling of such commodities as flour which have a tendency to pack. Before discharge of such lading through an opening can be effected, it is desirable to disrupt the lading from its compacted state. This generally results in an onrush of lading with consequent clogging of the exit outlet.

To obviate the above disadvantages the improvement provides for a two stage operation by first introducing the lading into a sub-chamber by gravity and thereafter withdrawing the same pneumatically under conditions assuring free and uniform flow of lading as will be hereinafter described.

For further comprehension of the invention reference may be had to the accompanying drawings wherein the improved structure is shown as applied to a railway hopper car and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a portion of a car showing as much of'the car as necessary to illustrate the application of the improved structure to the car.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the structure shown in Figure 1 as viewed from right to left, parts of the center sill and one side wall being shown in section.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the structure shown in Figure 1 as seen on a line 3-3 of Figure l with the side walls, sloping floor and gate omitted and certain parts broken away.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view show.- ing the gate in closed position, the air admitting cover in fully closed position, and the floor panel forming the bottom of the sub-chamber being omitted, said view beice ing taken on a line corresponding to the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the hopper as taken on a line 5-5 of Figure 2 with the gate in an advanced state of opening and showing the air admitting cover in partially open position.

Figure 6 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken through the gate on a line 6-6 of Figure 3, the overlying angle member being omitted.

Figure 7 is a fractional sectional view taken through the gate enclosure and air inlet and showing a filtering medium in position.

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale of the shaft latching mechanism taken on a line 8-8 of Figure 2.

Figure 9 is a plan view of Figure 8 with the pawl mechanism in fully latched and sealed position.

Figure 10 is a plan view similar to Figure 9 except that the latching pawl is swung outwardly in releasing relation to the gate closing direction but in latching position to hold the shaft against rotation in either direction and so prevent movement of the gate.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the pawl and plunger assembly which forms a part of the latch mechamsm.

In Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings 8 indicates the rail on which the car is mounted, 9 the center sill and 10 one of the car side walls. Positioned between the center sill 9 and car side wall 10 is a hopper 11 formed in part by outer and inner side walls 12 and 13 which meet with longitudinally sloping floors 14 and 15 to form a foursided hopper.

The lower margins of the side walls 12 and 13 and floors 14 and 15 are spaced apart to form a discharge area or opening 16 which is adapted to be closed by a sliding gate 17. The gate 17 is mounted on a frame 18 to slide on longitudinally extending members or ways 19-19 which slope upwardly from the discharge opening 16 and project therebeyond at an angle to support the gate 17 in an open position. The ways 19-19 are preferably formed of angle shaped members each with one flange 19a extending upwardly and the adjacent flange 19b so extending laterally inwardly as to underlie the gate 17 and form a runway therefor. Extending transversely to the ways 19-19 are angle members 21 and 22 which respectively underlie the sloping floors 14 and 15 and complete the frame 18. The member 21 in like manner to the members 19-19 is of angle shape with one flange 21b in alignment with flanges 19b thereof to form a support for the gate 17 when in closed position. The adjacent flange 21a extends upwardly and is bent outwardly at 25 to conform to the inclination of the sloping floor 14. The transverse angle member 22 is inverted to form a hood shape covering for the trailing end of the gate 17 and includes one flange 22a which underlies the sloping floor 15. The adjacent flange 22b extends normally to sloping floor 15 to join with another element as Will be described. 7

The discharge structure is continued below the gate 17 bya chute 28 which includes substantially vertically dis posed walls 30, Hand 32 on three sides and an inclined wall 34. The walls 30, 31 and 32 at their upper margins are welded to the undersides of flanges 19b of members 19 and of flange 21b of transverse angle member 21'; The upper margin of wall 34 is reinforced by a ledge 35. The inclined wall 34 is apertured at 36 and leading there from is an elongated cylindrical conduit 37 for with drawal of lading pneumatically as will be hereinafter described.

The lower margin of the chute 28 is reinforced on two sides by laterally extending flanges 38 and 39.and on the other two sides is formed with grooves 40 and 40a.

The grooves 40 and 40a receive a floor panel 41 which is secured by bolts 41a in a position against the flanges 39 and 38. When the panel 41 is so applied there is provided a sub-chamber in the chute 28 for receiving lading from the hopper 11}; upon opening movement of the gate 17.

' *Trhegate 1 ispr ferablv mo d y ns of pi i gears 42 which engage with rack teeth 43 formed on the underside of the gate 17. The pinion gears 42 are non-rotatably mounted on a square shaft 40 which in turn is rotatably mounted in bearing brackets 45 and 46 which are secured by welding or otherwise to the flanges 19a of the ways 19 as shown in Figure 6. To eflect rotation o he h f 44 111$? i Provided n. o end an operating head 47 having a series of openings 47a for receiving an operating bar.

The gate 17 in its opened position extends beyond the hopper 11, as shown in Figure 5, and is contained in an enclosure 48 formed at the sides by the flanges 19a of the ways 19, a bottom floor plate 48a extending between the flanges 19b of the ways 19, a top plate 48b extending between the upper margins of the flanges 19a of the ways 19, and an end cover 49 hinged at 49a to the top plate 48b. The floor plate 48a is perforated at 5050 to accommodate the pinion gears 42 and maintain them in axial spaced alignment on the shaft 44. The end cover .49 is of pan shape with marginal flanges 51 and 52 to embrace the end of the enclosure 48 and is swingable to full open position in order to allow insertion and removal of the gate 17. The enclosure 48 is formed by welding together the parts making up the same.

The end cover 49 is hingedly mounted at 49a in order to. swing upwardly, as shown in Figure 5, for admitting entraining air when pneumatic unloading is employed. In this regard there is provided a retaining latch member 54 pivoted at 55 to the cover 49 and formed with a series of notches 56 which engage with bracket 57 for holding the cover 49 open in any of various positions. Surrounding the enclosure 48 at the entrance end, as shown in Figure 7, there is a beading 58 for holding a filter cloth or screen 59 for filtering the entraining air prior to its admission in contact with the lading. An annular snap ring 60 holds the filter cloth or screen 59 in place.

Entraining air after entering through the filter cloth or screen 59 passes through conduits 61, 62, 63 and 64 extending longitudinally through the gate 17 and exits as at 65, common to conduits 61, 62, 63 and 64, to act on lading the inclined surface of which is indicated at 66 in Figure adjacent the forward edge 17a of the gate 17 and at the location where lading flows from the main hopper 11 to the sub-hopper formed by the chute 28 and floor panel 41. The gate 17, as will be noted, is of generally hollow construction and at its leading edge is bevelled as indicated at 67. It will be understood that suction is applied to the conduit 37 and thereby the air entrained with the lading is removed from the hopper 11.

The upwardly inclined direction of opening movement of the gate 17 besides assisting in the flow of lading also provides for regulating the amount of lading in the sub-hopper since the gate 17 opens and provides for an increasing amount of lading in the sub-hopper without altering the relative position between the entering air and the heap of lading on the floor panel 41. The upward direction of movement of the gate 17 also provides for freedom of access to the exit conduit 37. The outer end of the exit conduit 37 is closed when not in use by a suitable cap as shown at 70.

It will be observed that the gate 17, when the cover 49 is in place, is completely enclosed and, being concealed, from the operator it is desirable that some means be provided for indicating complete closure of the gate 17. To this end a latching mechanism 71 is employed for the operating shaft 44 which precludes the possibility of applying a seal until the gate 17 is in completely closed position. The latching mechanism 71 is shown in outline in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings and its details are illustrated more clearly in Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11.

The latching mechanism 71 includes a forked pawl 73 mounted on the bearing bracket 45 to swing on a vertically disposed pivot 74. The pawl 73 has arms 73a and 73b providing a slot 75 therebetween to straddle lugs 76 formed integrally with and projecting radially from the operating head 46. The pawl '73 is slotted at 77 to receive one leg 78a of an L-shaped bolt 78. Another leg 78b of the bolt 78 extends, as shown in Figure 9, through an aperture 79 in the bracket 45 and through the flange 19a of the way 19 with the end lying directly behind the gate 17 adjacent the end 80 thereof and in the path of its movement. The leg 78b of the bolt 78 moves in and out through the aperture 79 in the manner of a plunger simultaneously with swinging movement of the pawl 73 about its vertical pivot 74. The pawl 73 is movable outwardly to clear the lugs 76 and permit free rotation of the shaft 44 in either direction. The lengthof the leg 78b is such, however, that the pawl 73 can be swung back sufficient, as shown in Figure 10, to partially straddle a lug 76 and prevent rotation of the shaft 44 in either direction. Thus the gate 17 can be held in a number of different partly open positions as de ir The pawl 73 is fitted with a sealing pin 81 which has a vertical arm 81a that is axially movable in an opening 82 to extend through a sealing hole 83 formed in the bearing bracket 45. Complete swinging movement of the pawl 73 to enable registration of arm 81a of sealing pin 81 with the hole 83 cannot be effected until the gate 17 is completely closed, as shown in Figure 9, due to the inward movement of the leg 78b being blocked, as shown in Figure 10, by the adjacent side of the gate 17. Outward swinging movement of the pawl 73 is limited by 2, lug 84 which engages with a stop 85 on the bearing bracket 45. The sealing pin 81 is in the form of an L-shaped bolt with a handle portion 86 projecting outwardly beyond the body of the pawl 73. The handle portion 86 is adapted to rest on a ledge 87 of the pawl 73, as shown in Figure 10, when in released position. The lower portion of the leg 81a of the sealing pin 81 is apertured at 88, Figure 8, to register with an aperture 89 on the bearing bracket 45 for receiving a sealing band 90.

The improved structure is such that a loaded car can be unloaded either pneumatically or by gravity without any previous arrangement at the loading location. The use of the removable panel 41 in the floor of the sub-hopper to avoid contamination of lading is employed when unloading foodstuffs by gravity and consequently the use of the removable panel 41 is indicated for handling flour and the like whether by gravity or pneumatically.

The pneumatic operation may be best understood by following out the sequence of operations involved in unloading of a car. Assuming the parts to be as shown in Figure l with the floor panel 41 in place, the latching mechanism 71 is unlatched, the cap 70 is removed from conduit37 and the latter is then connected with a source of reduced pressure or suction. The cover 49 is then opened and with the filter cloth or screen 59 in position, the gate 17 is opened by rotation of the operating head 47 to the extent required by the character of the lading being handled. The gate 17 is then retained in the desiredopened position by the pawl 73 engaging one of the lugs 76 of the operating head 47. Upon lowering of the pressure in the sub-chamber formed by the chute 28 and floor panel 41, entraining air flows through the filter 59, through the conduits 61, 62, 63 and 64 in the gate 17 and through the sub-chamber to conduit 37 taking along the lading in its train.

As regards the unloading by gravity, the operation is carried out in the normal manner by opening the gate 17 after removal of the floor panel 41. It is to be noted that, notwithstanding the efficient precautions maintained against clogging with pneumatic unloading, the full opening is available for gravity discharge.

It will be observed that this invention is well adapted for the handling of foodstuifs by reason of the complete enclosure of all parts to prevent the entry of contaminating influences. The provision of the air filter cloth or screen 59 of large dimensions and fine filtering mesh admits only highly purified air to the sub-chamber.

What is claimed as new is:

l. Pneumatic discharge means for a railway hopper car including a main hopper and a sub-hopper, means providing an air and lading exit from said sub-hopper, a flat movable gate having a leading edge for controlling the flow of lading from said main hopper to said subhopper, and conduit means carried by said fiat gate for directing entraining air therethrough to a location adjacent said leading edge for trapping lading flowing thereover.

2. Pneumatic discharge means for a railway hopper car including a main hopper and a sub-hopper for receiving lading, an exit from said sub-hopper for pneumatically withdrawing lading therefrom, an inlet to said sub-hopper having a hinged closure with means for holding the same in various adjusted positions, a filter screen positioned across said inlet, a flat gate slidably mounted in said inlet between said main hopper and said subhopper for controlling the flow of lading from the former to the latter, and conduit means on said fiat gate between said filter screen and said sub-hopper for directing the flow of air from said inlet to said exit.

3. Discharge means for a hopper car having an opening for discharge of lading including a framing structure surrounding the opening and a sliding gate for controlling the size of the opening, said structure including ways for supporting the gate in closed and opened position; a sub-chamber below the gate when in closed position for receiving lading, said sub-chamber having an exit for pneumatic withdrawal of lading from the sub-chamber, a box enclosure for the gate in opened position, said box enclosure including a floor, side walls, a roof, and a hingedly mounted end door swingable to open position for admitting entraining air to the chamber; and conduit means extending through the gate to conduct air from the box enclosure to the receiving chamber.

4. A structure according to claim 3 in which the box enclosure is provided with a latch to retain the end door in closed position and hold the end door in various adjusted positions, said latch including a bar pivoted to the door and having a series of notches for engagement with the body of the enclosure.

5. Pneumatic discharge means for a railway hopper car including a main hopper and a sub-hopper having a horizontal fioor, means providing an air inlet to said subhopper, means providing an air and lading exit from said sub-hopper, a gate having a flat upper surface and located between said main hopper and said sub-hopper, means movably supporting said gate, said gate and means supporting the same being disposed at a minor acute angle inclining upwardly from said floor onto which lading flows from said main hopper such that the heap of lading on said floor increases in height as the opening movement of said gate continues, and means for moving said gate to variably position it.

6. Pneumatic discharge means for a railway hopper car including a main hopper and a sub-hopper having a horizontal floor, means providing an air inlet to said subhopper, means providing an air and lading exit from said sub-hopper, a gate having a flat upper surface and located between said main hopper and said sub-hopper, means movably supporting said gate, said gate and means supporting the same being disposed at a minor acute angle including upwardly from said floor onto which lading flows from said main hopper such that the heap of lading on said floor increases in height as the opening movement of said gate continues, housing means for receiving said gate in opened position, and means for moving said gate to variably position it.

7. Pneumatic discharge means for a railway hopper car including a main hopper and a sub-hopper having a horizontal floor, the bottom of said sub-hopper including a removable floor panel to permit gravity discharge of lading, means providing an air inlet to said sub-hopper, means providing an air and lading exit from said subhopper, a gate having a flat upper surface and located between said main hopper and said sub-hopper, means movably supporting said gate, said gate and means supporting the same being disposed a minor acute angle inclining upwardly from said floor onto which lading flows from said main hopper such that the heap of lading on said floor increases in height as the opening movement of said gate continues, and means for moving said gate to variably position it.

8. Pneumatic discharge means for a railway hopper car including a main hopper having a discharge opening and a sub-hopper having a substantially horizontal floor for receiving lading from the main hopper, means providing an air inlet to said sub-hopper, means providing an air and lading exit from said sub-hopper, a gate having a flat upper surface located between said main hopper and said sub-hopper for controlling discharge of lading from the main hopper to the sub-hopper, means movably supporting said gate, said gate and means supporting the same being disposed at an acute angle inclining upwardly from said floor onto which lading flows from said main hopper such that the heap of lading on said floor increases in height as the opening movement of said gate continues, and means for moving said gate to variably position it.

9. Discharge means for a hopper car having an opening for discharge of lading including a framing structure surrounding the opening and a flat gate slidably disposed at a level above the lower margin of the frame, a floor below the gate forming with the framing structure a chamber for receiving lading upon opening movement of the gate, an exit outlet leading from the chamber for connection with a source of reduced pressure for withdrawing lading from the chamber pneumatically, and conduit means extending through the gate for passing a stream of air to the chamber and entraining lading to the exit outlet.

10. Discharge means for a hopper having a discharge opening and a sliding gate for closing the opening, ways for supporting the gate, said ways and gate being disposed at an angle inclining upwardly in the direction of opening movement of the gate and a sub-hopper below the gate for receiving lading from the main hopper, and an exit conduit for pneumatically withdrawing lading from the sub-hopper, said exit conduit extending lengthwise from the sub-hopper to lie beneath the gate when moved to open position, said sub-hopper having a horizontal floor onto which the lading flows when said gate is opened, the inclination of said ways and gate relative to said floor being such that the heap of lading on said floor increases in height as the opening movement of said gate progresses.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,116,603 Holly May 10, 1938 2,190,727 McKenna Feb. 20, 1940 2,393,932 Petroe Jan. 29, 1946 2,638,060 Dorey May 12, 1953 2,647,802 Hornbrook Aug. 4, 1953 2,650,726 Aller et al. Sept. 1, 1953 2,690,138 Zimmer Sept. 28, 1954 2,695,196 Talmey et al Nov. 23, 1954 2,745,563 Dath May 15, 1956 2,749,851 Dorey June 12, 1956 2,891,817 Loomis June 23, 1959 

